A little slice of real life

Category Archives: Slices of Life

Good morning! It’s the start of a new week which calls for another Slice of Life, so let’s get on with the linking and listing, shall we?

The Life

I finished my second week at my real job and finally finished all the training at my part time job. I’m definitely loving that my schedule will be a little more balanced this week almost as much as I’m loving the fact that I got my first “big girl” paycheck! I may have spent most of it on student loans but still... I got one!! I’m also finally starting to step out a bit and hopefully meet some new people. I went to an (awesome!) free meditation at a local yoga studio yesterday and I found a trivia team on MeetUp to join up with later in the week. Branching out on my own has never really been my thing and neither has having lots of plans with large groups of people… but I figure I should find something to do besides work!

A great post I’d love to forward to some of my classmates who are already complaining about the interest rates on our student loans now that we have to pay the money back.

Signs that you’re working at a job you love , my current jobs check quite a few of these even if the training schedule was a little crazy.

The Eats

I’m still loving on my CSA. Share #2 included greens, zucchini, broccoli, garlic scapes, and a ton of basil. That didn’t stop me from swinging by the farmers market on my way to work one day and picking up a few green peppers and a bunch of tomatoes… at least I remembered the honey I went there for in the first place? BF and I also decided to sign up for a membership at Sam’s Club. I may not need it now while I’m swimming in produce but I can definitely see myself loving it once farm season is through. The recipes and foodie reads this week include:

The start to what looks like an exciting series of posts on eating clean. The BF may find it annoying everytime I point out the some of his “healthier” choices are low fat/low sugar/ low calorie due to additives that are best left out. Maybe if I throw the science at him from someone else it’ll stick 😉

The perfect Mojito recipe which BF and I sampled on Saturday (good thing my mint plant is growing like … well like mint!)

The Exercise

I’ve been taking it easy on my hip this week to make sure that when I start running again I’m able to do so without further incident. There’s been lots of hip strengthening exercises and general full body workouts and a lot of yoga. There’s just enough room for my mat on the deck at our new place and I’ve been loving heading outside on weekend mornings (so I don’t wake the BF 🙂 ) All these gentle strengthening and stretching based exercises haven’t done much in terms of getting my sweat on, but they definitely make my body feel great.

Welcome back for another week of my particular brand of crazy. It’s Monday which means it’s time for another Slice of Life. Basically I share what I’ve been up to for the past week and link you to related posts from some all over the internet 🙂

The Life

I officially survived starting both of my jobs last week (despite my neighbor “choking” me during my CPI training). I’ve got a great caseload of upper elementary students for the next 4 weeks of summer school and a pair of clients at my part-time ABA gig. I had to generate my own therapy schedule for the first time everwhich took a lot longer than it probably should have but it’ll get easier with time. I also took advantage of having a weekend to finally plant some herbs (just mint and basil in pots for this year) and catch up on some recipe photographing. For reading this week I found:

The Naked Face Project from Healthy Tipping Point. I’ve been working to streamline my personal routine and move into “greener” more natural beauty products and this project definitely takes care of that!

An interesting read from Greatist on the rising prevalence of autoimmune disease in 20 somethings (too bad Celiac didn’t make the list… guess I’m not as trendy as I used to be 😉 )

A defense of oil pulling from Wellness Mamma, who introduced me to the idea in the first place. It’s still a part of my weekly routine and I really do feel as though I’ve seen improvements.

A seemingly fair review of my old favorite grocery store Trade Joe’s from Savvy Sugar that looks at their discounts from both sides of the aisle. Either way the closest TJ’s is now almost 40 minutes away so I won’t be shopping there any time soon 😦

The Eats

I am still swimming in salads from my first roundof CSA produce (though I’m not gonna lie I’m excited for round 2 this week!) I had salad for lunch almost every day and I’ve still got enough for a few more this week. I finally cut into my kohlrabi and decided it’s one of my new favorite veggies, I sliced it super thin and used it to make a variation on my Kale Slaw. Aside from salad it’s been lots of beans and rice, eggs, lentil tacos, and lots of pesto. Other great eats I found include:

Drool worthy Seafood dip from Peas and Crayons that BF is trying to bribe me into making ASAP.

A Buzzfeed Sangria roundup that could keep me and my friends buzzed all summer long. *side note find local friends ASAP so I have an excuse to make sangria*

A fun new contest with a hefty prize from Bobs Red Mill (the maker of my beloved GF oats).

The Exercise

Exercise this week has dwindled significantly in terms of running. I think the change up in surfaces by my new place (gravel, mulch and grass) and the increases in mileage I’d been trying to build all added up and left me with one very sore hip. Despite all the stretching and foam rolling my PT bestiesuggested I still can’t go more than a mile without things feeling funky. Since both of my jobs are active I’m officially on a running rest until everything feels 100%. That doesn’t mean I’ll be taking it easy though! I’m looking at plenty of yoga, HIIT workouts with minimal jumping, and slow hikes on the trails until I’m back to normal. I’m not sure yet how this will impact my plans to run a half-marathon with the BF this fall, but I’ll be sure to keep you all posted. No fitness links this week, just a reminder to listen to your body 🙂

Who’s got a recommendation for low impact at home workouts? Anyone want to come over for a sangria party?

I start my grown up job today (and I may be more than just a little excited)!! I’m incredibly blessed that all my licensure worked itself out in time and I can start my first day of summer school on a good foot. I also get to meet my new ABA client at job number two this evening (because working just one job clearly isn’t enough for me). But while I’m off doing that I figured I’d leave you with a little recap of the past week, with another round of Slices of Life.

The Eats

Lots of smoothies, stir-fry, and veggie burgers for me. I actually spent the last two weeks eating fully vegetarian until I went home for Fathers Day and we made my dad barbecue chicken…a girls gotta have some balance, right? I also found…

A Gluten Free Bread that looks like real bread- I can’t wait to try this recipe from The Non-Dairy Queen (Thanks to Lindsay for sharing the recipe).

A delicious Green Smoothie recipe and a fun contest from The Gluten Free Treadmill.

The Exercise

I already mentioned the last week was filled with puppy love, which included lots of walks. But it also included two 4-mile runs and my first time running on something besides the sidewalk. My legs definitely felt like jelly going through the grass and up the smallest of hills, but the view of the lake by my new place was totally worth it! Speaking of new places…

The Life

I’m officially, officially all moved in with the BF (and his mom) now. No take backs 😉 He may have commandeered majority of the dresser drawers and closet space, but I think we managed to blend our stuff together pretty well. I particularly love my little “kitchen” which is basically our mini fridge filled with my CSA share and a shelf for all the rest of my food supplies (thankfully we were able to make room for my giant blender in the actual kitchen!).

As for the rest of the life I got my first CSA share of the season and I’m definitely looking forward to the next 8! This one was loaded with greens including a new to me veggie kohlrabi, Meghan assures me it’s tasty just about any way you cook it though I haven’t tried it out yet. I also went back down to visit my parents (which seems weird since I haven’t been gone that long) but we had to do a little something for Fathers Day. I know everyone thinks they have the best dad ever but unless you’re my long lost sibling I hate to tell you you’re wrong. My dad is an amazing man who works so hard to care for our family and I was glad to go enjoy another family dinner (love you dad!). As far as links go this week I found:

My vacation time is quickly coming to a close and I’m more than ready ( I get another month off after summer school ends in mid-July and I have no idea what I’ll do with myself then!). The past week I’ve been checking boing things off my list like a physical and another TB test as well as taking an online Autism module for job number 2 and spending hours on the phone with the state trying to check down my licenses. Getting all those fun things done means that I can really relax and enjoy my last few days of total freedom.

While I wasn’t waiting on hold with the state this week I did manage to read some awesome posts and check some fun things off my list, so lets get to it!

The Eats

Staying on a budget has been much easier than I thought (though it helps that I inherited a lot of food from people heading out of town this month). I’ve been having a blast experimenting in the kitchen, and dining al fresco while throwing tennis balls for the pup. I’ve got plans this week to make up a few more easy freezer foods so I don’t have to worry about cooking as much while I settle in at my job and new place next week. I’m also super excited to finally get my first batch of CSA veggies this Thursday!!

I’m looking into growing a few herbs this summer with these tips from Averie Lane

And I’m loving these tips from The V Spot on how to store the goodies I’ll be picking up later this week.

The Exercise

I got in all the miles I wanted to run last week, and then some when you add in walks with the pup (and let me tell you she loves to walk). I also focused quite a bit on core strengthening and yoga stretching last week because my lower back was super tight (I’ll be trying to bribe the BF into a backrub soon).

The Life

Minus the courses and phone calls I haven’t been up to much this week. Spent some time cooking and photographing. Spent a lot of time walking and chasing tennis balls (lots and lots of tennis balls). Enjoyed some time in the sunshine making some vitamin D and reading for fun. s for the rainy days and long evenings… pup and I spent our time cuddled up on the couch working our way through Supernatural 🙂

This tutorial from It’s Always Autumn was great for helping me work towards better pictures with my trusty old point and shoot camera.

Whew the last few days have been a whirlwind, both of activity and emotion. I’m officially moved out of my parents house which is exciting and scary and bittersweet (I’m at my aunt’s house dog-sitting for the next two weeks, though most of my stuff is already at the BF’s). I officially accepted and started training for my part time job (because obviouslya full time job isn’t enough for me). I also had my last day at my current ABA job, which was really hard because I’ve grown to love the kiddo I worked with. The thing I didn’t do… blog… whoops 😉

The eats

This past week was a combination of snacks, smoothies, and my last few dinners with my family. This coming week starts my budget for the year as I start being responsible for my own eats. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to try more veggie based meals and excited for the challenge of cooking good food on a limited budget. Now if only my CSA would start already! Some of the recipes I’m looking forward to trying this week include:

The exercise

“Training” got off to a slow start this week, though I was definitely active. I got in lots of strength training while packing, unpacking, and repacking my life into the car to make everything fit. There was quite a lot of yoga which was so easy in my newly emptied room. I got in lots of slow, easy, cardio taking long walks around the neighborhood and park with my aunts dog. I did manage to run 4 hot sweaty miles which is not as many as I wanted, but at least it’s something. This week I’m planning to map out some runs around here to work on milage (I’m looking for 5 by the end of the week). I’m also looking into some at home crossfit based workouts for non-running days (mostly because BF is interested in trying it out, but neither of us have that kind of cash right now). Things on the list to try include:

The life

Like I said already moving out is both exciting and bittersweet. There was a lot to be done at the BF’s this past weekend including paintingthe room we’re moving into, moving all the furniture between the rooms, and helping move some of his/his mom’s stuff into storage in their garage. I’ve got some experience painting from when I worked with Habitat for Humanity and it was fun to show him the ropes. I finished developing and organizing my budget for the coming year. My wonderful Master’s degree came with a pretty hefty price tag, and though BF and I made the best of our space I’m really hoping to only have to live with him and his mom for no more than a year. Finally I checked a few things off my to-do list around here including starting my recipe page, updating my profile, and laying the groundwork for a few more regular features including this one. Slices of Life is my hybrid of a weekly recap and a link love post, with a little to-do list accountability thrown in for good measure. Helping me get all of this done in the past week were some of the following:

The 7 Baby Steps from Dave Ramsey (I also borrowed his book Total Money Makeover and plan to make BF read it)

I’m officially 15 hours away from my requirement for graduation. I’m in the midst of preparing for my oral exam next Monday. I pick up my cap and gown this Thursday. Can you tell I’m ready to be done with school?

Buuuuttt I still have about a month left until then and with things winding down that means I’ve been spending lots of my free time on the internet which means I have some link love to share with you all.

Yoga for better sleep- because earlier shifts at my medical placement have left me with a need to adjust my sleep schedule, and a little relaxation before bed is never a bad thing.

Spending Fast- I already said BF and I are going to be on a tight budget in the coming year and I meant it. I’ve been slowly researching tips and plans for success and this was one of the best I found.

Lemon Blueberry Granola- I’ve been excited to make this for months and I still keep forgetting to buy the lemons! Meghan this is on the books soon!

Autism Acceptance- I believe that acceptance starts with awareness which is why I Light it up Blue each April as well as working to serve students on the spectrum all year. That being said the author makes an excellent point about how difficult reaching that acceptance can be and provides a valuable lesson to us all.

I’m definitely ready to be done with this week, it means I’m one week closer to the end of my school placement (which is sad) but it also means I’m one interview down (fingers crossed it goes well!). I don’t have much of anything planned for this weekend but I’m planning to enjoy the extended me time.

I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon (which probably makes me some sort of copycat) and share my own list of link love for this week. I figure if you like reading what I post you might be interested in some of the things I like to read too, right? Right. 😉

Healthy Eats

Healthy eating advice and a great way to kick-start your own goals from my favorite Maven